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ENT497A Pollination Biology (Fall 2015)

Pollinators are critical components of natural and agricultural landscapes. This course will provide students with broad insights into pollinator biology, evolution, economic importance, and conservation.

ENT 497A BIO (3 credits)

Flowering plants and their animal pollinators serve as key components of both natural ecosystems and agrosystems, and abound with interesting examples of ecology and evolution in action. Knowledge of pollination biology is thus broadly relevant, with applications in the fields of ecology, evolutionary biology, conservation, entomology, and horticulture. This course will provide students with a fundamental understanding of animal-mediated pollination, focusing on (1) plant and pollinator diversity, biology, and natural history, (2) the ecology and evolution of plant-pollinator relationships including pollination syndromes, mutualisms, and evolutionary strategies of generalists and specialists, (3) foraging economics and learning behavior, (4) the important contributions pollinators make to natural ecosystems and agriculture, and (5) the factors that contribute to pollinator declines and possible conservation strategies.

Course Outline

The course will involve a combination of lectures (outlined below) and class activities.

I. Introduction

Why study pollination biology?

II. The Plants

Plant Reproduction. Reproductive strategies and innovations. Mechanisms of pollen dispersal. Major plant lineages and the origin of the Angiosperms.

Pollinator Evolution and Diversity Overview. The origin of pollinator lineages relative to the rise of the Angiosperms. Taxonomy and phylogenetics of pollinator lineages. Beetles, Wasps, and generalist insect pollinators